The GOP's Payroll Tax Fiasco — How did Republicans manage to lose the tax issue to Obama? — GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell famously said a year ago that his main task in the 112th Congress was to make sure that President Obama would not be re-elected.

Capitol Stand-off: Republicans Caving? — My prediction: House Republicans will soon - probably within 24 hours - cave in and accept the two-month extension of the payroll tax cut passed last week by the Senate. — I base this on conversations with House Republicans who know they are losing …

Literally walking away from a fight — It was rather remarkable this morning to watch the proceedings on the House floor. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wanted to try again to bring up the Senate's bipartisan payroll-tax-break compromise, and instead of debating, Republicans literally walked away from the fight.

Romney Refuses To Take Position On Payroll Tax Holiday — In two TV interviews today, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney refused to take a stance on the biggest issue in Washington today: the extension of the payroll tax holiday. A huge bipartisan majority in the Senate passed …

Gingrich to House GOP: Give In on Payroll Tax — DES MOINES, Iowa - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who famously lost budget battles to President Bill Clinton amid two government shutdowns, had some advice to House Republicans at loggerheads with another Democratic president: Give in.

Newt Gingrich to gay Iowan: Vote for Obama — Gingrich and his wife Callista at tonight's event in Oskaloosa. Oskaloosa, Ia. - Newt Gingrich told a gay man and longtime resident of Oskaloosa here today that he should vote for President Obama. — “I asked him if he's elected, how does he plan to engage gay Americans.

The point at which Mitt Romney loses his mind — Mitt Romney unveiled a brand-new stump speech in New Hampshire last night, reading a carefully-crafted, poll-tested text from two teleprompters. Confident that his Republican primarily rivals simply won't (or can't) catch him …

You, sir, are no Teddy Roosevelt — In a speech to be delivered in Bedford, N.H., this evening, Mitt Romney will push back explicitly on Barack Obama's recent invocation of Teddy Roosevelt in a speech the president used to frame the 2012 campaign in terms of “fairness.” Here's what Romney will say:

Exclusive: North Korea's military to share power with Kim's heir — (Reuters) - North Korea will shift to collective rule from a strongman dictatorship after last week's death of Kim Jong-il, although his untested young son will be at the head of the ruling coterie, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said.

ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll: Ron Paul new frontrunner — CEDAR RAPIDS — Just two weeks before Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses there's a new leader, but the race remains “remarkably fluid,” according to a new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of likely Republican caucusgoers.

Obama's Hawaii Christmas dilemma — President Obama faces a most difficult decision with the payroll tax extension up in the air, and it isn't whether to compromise with Republicans. — The toughest call for the president this holiday season could be whether to join his family for Christmas in Hawaii or stay in lonely Washington.

The Most Important Graphs of 2011 — What is it about graphs and economics? In a discipline where facts are murky and certainty is elusive, graphs offer a bright light of information and a small confidence that the world can be summed up between two axes.

Chevy Volt Costing Taxpayers Up to $250K Per Vehicle — Analyst: ‘This might be the most government-supported car since the Trabant’ — Each Chevy Volt sold thus far may have as much as $250,000 in state and federal dollars in incentives behind it - a total of $3 billion altogether …

I knew Christopher Hitchens better than you — Every writer who had a drink with Hitch has now told his story. But even Rushdie and Amis didn't know him like this — Christopher Hitchens and I were friends for 40 years, plus another five when we were enemies.

Romney features wife, touts ‘character’ in new ad — Mitt Romney's new ad features his wife Ann talking about his character — and could be seen as implicitly tweaking Newt Gingrich for his own personal life. — “You can never predict what kind of tough decisions are going to come in front …